New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in the Middle East, leading a delegation to show for the Israel.
And Eyewitness News political reporter Dave Evans is with him in Jerusalem.
This is the governor's first international trip since being elected in 2010, and he chose Israel for good reason.
In the midst of the bloody conflict over Gaza, he hopes to show support for America's closest ally in the war-torn region.
"I want to thank you for coming here, for standing clearly with Israel, representing the American people and the people of New York," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference Wednesday.
Cuomo spoke to Eyewitness News in the Old City of Jerusalem, and he made it clear that he believes Israel is being persecuted and had to respond to attacks from Gaza.
"It's a very tough time for Israel," he said. "And sometimes, it's about showing up and showing up at a difficult time, and saying we are here and you are not alone. And we stand in solidarity with you."
Israelis and New Yorkers say they appreciate Cuomo's show of support. He had lunch at a place called Big Apple Pizza, where one Hebrew student from Long Island said Cuomo's trip is important to him.
"It means a lot," Grant Hartman said. "Having a Jewish background as well, to see that they care and to see that they are taking a stand for something."
Nearby, Palestinians said Israel's response to Gaza has been heavy-handed. They hope Cuomo's trip might someday lead to a long-lasting peace.
"The situation in Gaza is very sad," Ziad Hkashim said. "With all the kids has been killed, all the civilians has been really suffering through all this."
On Thursday, the governor wrapped up his trip with two important events. First, he visited the infamous tunnels dug by Hamas militants.
One tunnel was almost 2 miles long and about 60 feet deep under the border between Israel and Gaza. Cuomo after a tour of the tunnel, called it amazing. "This is not just a hand-dug tunnel through dirt, there's electricity, there are phone wire, there's an intercom system," he said.
Israelis said the tunnels hide rockets and offer a pathway to Hamas militants. They call it nothing more than terrorism.
"We found four tunnels already inside Israel that could only serve one purpose, they don't smuggle anything in those tunnels, that's not the purpose," said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, Israeli defense force. "They've served, just easy access, a spring board against the civilian communities around this area."
The governor was accompanied by top elected officials from New York. They did not visit Gaza, nor did they see the incredible suffering of so many people there. Still, they deemed those tunnels troubling.
New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, "It's just amazing that people who have so little, the people have so little, and the leadership would spend so much money promote terrorist activity."
Cuomo shortened his trip by several hours and never visited with Palestinians. He made no attempt to see Gaza for himself.
"I understand your point and I said in this trip I don't know if we could have gotten anything more done in this trip than we did," said Cuomo. "We didn't even get a chance to sleep on this trip."
Gaza is a small area with about 2 million people. Hamas officials have argued these tunnels are needed because of the blockade, but Israeli officials have said as long as these tunnels exist peace is virtually impossible.
Cuomo also inspected the high-tech Iron Dome defense system and got a briefing from the Israeli defense force. The Dome can detect incoming fire anywhere from 2 to 43 miles away; officers then have 30 seconds or less to fire rockets from these launchers.
The mobile system has been Israel's defense method since 2011. It's expensive, but effective at intercepting and shooting down incoming rockets.
It's "expensive to operate but you get some financial support from the United States?" said Cuomo. "It really is amazing -- when you think how fast this happens -- they launch a missile from Gaza and in a couple of seconds a determination is made, whether to shoot it down, where to shoot it down, so it's really an amazing, amazing development."
Israel has deemed the Iron Dome 87 percent effective.
"First of all, it has saved Israeli lives and second of all, it's given the Israeli government the ability to make cool-headed decisions. It makes our lives easier," said Lerner.
From here, Cuomo joined former president Shimon Peres to thank Americans who fight for Israel and operate the Dome.
"It means a tremendous amount to see the support from the United States and the government in Israel for what we're doing - not from a political standpoint -but just supporting us who we are and what we do, and how we protect the Israeli and the Jewish people in general," said Noam Sohn, American-Israeli sergeant from Rye Brook.
The governor told soldiers they fight for America, as well as Israel.
"And your enemy at the end of the day is our enemy, because they're fighting you because of what you represent and what you represent is democracy," said Cuomo.
Since this latest conflict with Gaza began back in July 8 only a handful or of rockets have gotten through, so it's not a foolproof system, but a great layer of protection for the citizens of Israel.